Batman: The Legend Begins
by Deepmaniac80
Summary: This is a prequel story to Batman, which will continue after he becomes Batman as well. It is the first in my series of Batman books. The next one will be called Batman: The Court of Owls, and based loosely on Snyder's comic of the same title. This book, however, is about Batman fighting against Carmine Falcone, and some other Batman villains such as the Penguin.
1. Chapter 1

It was a cold day in Gotham City. A very cold day. And seemingly, the cold weather created lots of cold hearts that day. Bruce Wayne, son of billionaire Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, went to the theatre that day. As they were leaving, Thomas suggested that they take a shortcut. So they went down the nearest alley, known as crime alley for it's bad reputation. "We'd better get through here quick." Said Martha. "You know someone got murdered just the round the corner recently."

"And you're gonna be next!" A robber jumped out from behind the two green trashcans labelled Doodlebug and Junkyard Dog. Bruce had always pondered why they were labelled like that, but at this moment he didn't care. A man had just threatened to murder his mother. "Why? What good would it do to kill me?" Asked Martha. "Alright 'en, I won't kill you, just give me what I want and I'm off!" "What do you want?" "I'll take that pearl necklace yer wearing, if you don't mind." "I most certainly do mind! This necklace is special! My mother gave it to me before she died!" "This is useless." The robber got out his silver gun and shot a bullet through Martha's head. "No!" Screamed Thomas, whilst Bruce stood in stunned silence. Thomas went to take the robber's gun, and succeeded, but the robber was still able to reach the trigger. And he did. And he pulled it. And Thomas fell dead. The robber then ran away, leaving his gun and leaving Bruce to cry on his parents' bodies.

27 Years Later

Bruce still hadn't found his parents' killer. But he was still trying. Hoping. His latest method was using a recording device to hear police reports, hoping for a description of a man with a polythene mask who was fairly well built, and had not so good teeth. That description would match his memory of the murderer. But that description wasn't happening. In fact, nothing was happening. It seemed like it was going to be a quiet day. But there's no such thing as a quiet day in Gotham. As soon as Bruce lay back to relax, the sound of police sirens flooded the room, and he could see a big flash of blue through the window. The police report came through, saying, "We've found Falcone's base! We might finally be able to tie him to that huge amount of murders that happened 27 years ago!" Bruce was stunned. 27 years ago was when his parents were murdered. He thought, "Maybe this Falcone character could be the man who arranged it all! Maybe it was him who took my parents from my life! I have to investigate!" So Bruce rushed out of his house, and jumped into his high tech car which the butler, Jarvis Pennyworth, had given him for his 18th birthday, and followed the rush of blue towards the road for Blüdhaven. The cars stopped next to a run down building with a very simple outside brick layer. The police captain, Harvey Bullock got out of his car along with his work partner, Renee Montoya and Commissioner James Gordon. He spoke into his radio, saying, "This is Captain Bullock. We are on the scene. Officer Montoya and Commissioner Gordon are with me. Shall we make a move?" "Captain Bullock, this is Chief O Hara. Yes, one of you may enter, but don't make it obvious why you're here. I'll leave it up to you which one of you goes in." Came the reply. "I should go," said Montoya. "I used to be a detective, I'll be able to keep my cover." "No." Answered Bullock. "I'm going." "But Captain, Montoya is right! She would be the right choice to head in. And you... Well, you know you have a reputation with detective work. A bad one." said Commissioner Gordon. "What are you saying?" Growled Bullock. "I am a good detective. Anyway, Chief said it was my choice. And I chose me." Commissioner Gordon and Montoya both sighed, whilst Bullock walked into Falcone's base. Nobody had noticed Bruce sitting in his car, watching, yet.

"Hello?" Said Bullock. "Is there anybody home?" The building sure didn't look like a criminal base, or "Villain's lair" as Bullock liked to call it. It was just in the layout of a hotel check-in, but with a bar on the reception table, and a big spiral of stairs on the right hand side, whilst the left hand side only had a door. But the strangest thing about it, was that if was empty. Harvey began to walk up the staircase slowly, with it making strange noises under his feet. Once he reached the top, he walked through the doorway and entered a room similar to one of a hospital waiting room, but smaller with a nice carpet, complete with a puzzle toy for children. In front of him stood three doors. One red, one chocolate brown, and the other sandy brown. Bullock made his way through the chocolate brown one in the middle. The room he entered was like a hospital check in with a white desk, white floors, and even white chairs. But also, behind the desk, there was a nurse. "Hello" said Harvey, "Where am I?" "You're in Gotham City," replied the nurse. "Do you need to be treated for Amnesia?" "No," said Harvey, "I meant... What is this building for?" "Treating patients, of course. We get a lot treated for insanity. That's why it's known as The Asylum." "Have you treated this man?" Harvey gave the nurse a picture of Falcone. "His name is Carmine Falcone. And he's most wanted by the Gotham City Police Department." "No," said the nurse. "I just take orders from him." "Do you realise that you just confessed to working for Falcone to the captain of the GCPD?" "Yes," said the nurse, "But you can't do anything about it." "I can arrest you." "No you can't." The nurse injected a white serum into Harvey's neck. He felt fine at first, then his mouth began to fill with white silava. Luckily, Montoya rushed in because she was worried about how long it was taking, and quickly gave Harvey some water to drink, which if he hadn't drunk, he would've died. Montoya pointed her gun at the nurse. "Who are you?" She asked. "Falcone won't let me give my name." The nurse replied. "So you can call me... Dollhouse." With that, Dollhouse rushed through the door behind her and locked it before Montoya could shoot her. And with that, Harvey and Montoya left the building. "Did you get anything?" Asked Commissioner Gordon. "No." Said Montoya. "Yes." Said Harvey. "Yes?" Montoya was confused. "Dollhouse, she touched me. When she injected me, she put her arm round my neck. I have her fingerprints." "Well then, we shall start DNA analysis immediately!" Said Gordon.

The DNA analysis was successful. They identified Dollhouse as Matilda Mathis, the daughter of a well-known criminal named Barton Mathis. And after a bit of investigation, they worked out where Matilda would be heading to next. A big event- the annual Citizen of the Year event, which this year was going to be hosted by Carmine Falcone himself. This whole time, Bruce had been there watching. So he headed immediately to the event.

On his way, he dropped by Wayne Manor to pick up some equipment he thought he might need at the event. And he was surprised to see a man he had seen before, but not here, standing before him. It should've been Jarvis Pennyworth standing in that spot. Instead, if was Alfred Pennyworth, Jarvis' son. "Alfred. What are you doing here?" Asked Bruce, noticing the look of sadness of Alfred's face. "While you were out, sir... Well... My father was murdered, sir. I don't know who did it, only the body was found, no weapon or anything, and since I'm his closest living relative, then I am your butler now. I am so sorry, Mr Wayne." Bruce was enraged. He packed his bag with a gun and ammo box, then continued his journey towards the annual event. As he arrived at the door, a man dressed in a black suit and tie with a top hat, carrying an umbrella stopped him. He also had a rather deformed body which reminded Bruce of a penguin. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked. "I'm here for the annual Citizen of the Year event." Replied Bruce. "You weren't invited." "I didn't realize you had to be." "If Falcone does not invite you here, he does not want you here." "How do you know I wasn't invited?" "I am Falcone's right hand man. He tells me everything. Some people say I'm his umbrella boy." "And you think that's a good thing? Spending your life under Falcone's umbrella, when you could be making a good living by yourself? All that working for Falcone does for you is make it look like you have to huddle with a group to stay going. And that makes you seem even more like a penguin!" The man got a gun out. "Dare you defy me!" He yelled in rage. "I am Oswald Cobblepot, the right hand man of Carmine Falcone, and I am NOT a penguin!" Oswald went to pull the trigger, but Bruce shot him before he could. So after a lot of trouble, Bruce entered the building where he might be able to get justice. Inside, he was approached by a red-haired woman carrying a newspaper. "Bruce Wayne!" She said. "I wasn't expecting to see you here!" "Vicki Vale." Bruce replied. "I've read the Gotham Gazette a few times." "Well then, you won't object to answering a few questions for it." "I suppose I won't." Bruce didn't really want his name in a newspaper, but didn't want to act strange and make it obvious that he wasn't supposed to be there. Plus, he found he was rather attracted to Vicki. "So," Vicki began, "What do you think of Falcone's so called evil scheme?" She got out a microphone, and held it toward Bruce. Bruce pushed the microphone away and asked, "What scheme?" Vicki didn't understand. "Since you're here, you should know that."she said. "Well then, make it so I do." "Well... For years, Falcone has led his gang round Gotham, taking territory and hiring killers to do his dirty work." Bruce flashed back to 27 years ago. But he kept his focus. "But he was never able to take Gotham as a whole from the don known as The Boss. But he's hatched a plan to do that now. He's going to hire a serial killer who has a very good reputation to kill all of The Boss's men, then The Boss himself. So, what do you think of it?" "I think... It's clever?" Bruce was really not sure what to say. Luckily, a bell rang and Falcone walked on to the stage just as he thought Vicki was about to test if he should really be there. "Saved by the bell." He thought to himself. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!" Said Falcone. "Welcome, welcome all to the annual Gotham City Citizen of the year event! But before we start, I would like to say a few words. " Bruce wasn't really listening. He was just fixated on finding evidence on Falcone. So far, there was none. He hadn't even seen Dollhouse show up yet. Then he realised. "Maybe I have seen Dollhouse." When Harvey and Montoya had spoken to Dollhouse, she was wearing a mask. Bruce hadn't seen the pictures on the DNA Analysis, he had only heard the officers talking, so maybe Dollhouse was standing in the room without her mask. But if she was... How would he find her?

That question was answered sooner than Bruce expected. A blonde woman walked onto the stage and grabbed Falcone round the neck, pointing her serum at his Adam's Apple. "Well, Matilda!" Said Falcone. "This is certainly unexpected!" "You should've seen it coming." Replied Dollhouse. "You murdered my family. This is revenge." "I did no such thing! I know you think that it was me who left your mother hanging like a doll, stuffed, in your family's home. But the truth is. That was your father." "You're lying." Dollhouse didn't want to believe it, but something inside her knew it was true. But she needed her whole body to know for sure before she could confront her own father. Falcone continued, "He did that with all the women he knew. He had an obsession. He used that serum you're holding at me now. The police called him the Dollmaker. He passed that mask down to you so that you could take on the mantle. But instead of the brilliant infamous Dollmaker, you've become a little lost girl named Dollhouse. Barton would be so disappointed." That made Matilda angry. She injected Falcone with the serum, and his mouth started bubbling. She left whilst every attendant of the event came up on to the stage to revive Falcone. Well, all except for Bruce. He had left out the other entrance looking for Dollhouse, so that he could make her pay for her crimes. Sure enough, he found her round the back. He got out his gun and shouted, "Matilda Mathis! You..." "Have failed this city?" Asked Matilda. "No! You must pay for your crimes!" "Oh. That. Well sorry, but I'm not going to. Bye bye!" And with that, she threw a smokebomb and got away. But that didn't end the fun of Bruce's day. As he was heading back home, he came across a scared man being robbed by a group of muggers led by none other than Oswald Cobblepot. "Oi penguin!" Shouted Bruce. "Thought I took care of you!" Oswald opened up his suit jacket to show Bruce a bullet proof vest. He was also showing Bruce where a hold had been created in it from when he shot him earlier. So Bruce pointed his gun at that spot without thinking. "Kill him." Said Oswald, and the other Muggers ran toward Bruce. Bruce began to fight them off, but he knew from the start that he was losing. He floored the first two, but the rest were ganging up on him. Soon enough, Bruce himself was floored. He struggled up whilst the muggers walked away from him and Oswald walked toward him holding a gun. "Bruce Wayne. Today is the day that you die." He said. All of a sudden, blood spattered out of Oswald's mouth and he fell to the floor. Behind him was Alfred Pennyworth. "Alfred! I had it handled!" Said Bruce. "Had it handled?" Replied Alfred disapprovingly. "To me, it looked like you were one second away from being killed!" "Well you saw wrong. Now let's just go home." "Very well then, Mr Wayne." And they did.

During the night, Bruce got out of bed. He rummaged through his drawer, and put on a black balaclava. Then he went back to where him and Alfred had left the deceased Oswald Cobblepot. "Can't leave you out here to be examined," he said, "They would find my fingerprints on you. So I'm going to have to do something about that." He looked across the street and saw a drain. He used a screwdriver to open it, and then dragged Oswald to it and dropped him down it. After the bang of Oswald falling, Bruce notices noticed something else in the sewers next to the body. A bag, filled with notes and pictures. He climbed down the ladder and looked through the bag. He found pictures of Falcone in bed with Dollhouse. Not only was Dollhouse considerably younger than him, but also Falcone was married. And not to Matilda Mathis. He looked through more and found old case files about crimes that Falcone had committed. It appeared that somebody else was gathering evidence on Falcone as well. But doing a better job. So Bruce took the evidence out of the sewers and looked at it more closely. It was almost enough to give Falcone a life's sentence. So he took it the Mayor's office, still wearing his balaclava. "Mayor Simon Dark?" Asked Bruce. "Who's speaking?" Responded Mayor Dark. "A friend." Replied Bruce, and shoved the evidence bag onto Simon's desk. "This is evidence against Carmine Falcone. Look into it. It could be enough to convict him." And with that, Bruce left through the window.

Meanwhile, something else was happening elsewhere in the city. A gathering of people. A jury, a judge in a not so friendly court. All of them were wearing masks, and the woman who was playing the role of the judge liked to say that they were owl masks, given their resemblance. This is what she was saying: "Thank you for coming to this special meeting. We are gathered here today to discuss the issues of the well-known criminal named Carmine Falcone. Something needs to be done about him. He has caused too much trouble, and is potentially capable of taking over the city and then what would we do? So we need a vote. Should he live or die?" "Die!" Shouted the rest of the court. "And how should we kill him?" And the court chanted, "Torture! Torture! Torture! Torture!" "Then it is settled." Said the woman. "Soon Carmine Falcone shall pay for his crimes to this city and meet his fate."


	2. Chapter 2

The criminal ran. Ran, faster than he had ever ran before. He ran into a wall. "Rupert Thorne!" Screamed the man in the balaclava chasing him. "You must pay for your crimes! Say hello to your judge, jury and executioner!" Then he shot Rupert Thorne dead in the middle of the street. Suddenly he realised what he had done. There was evidence all over the place now which he couldn't get rid of. So he ran back home. "Good morning, sir." Said Alfred when he got back to the house of his late father known as Wayne Manor. "Good morning, Alfred." Replied Bruce. Alfred noticed he was acting like he was feeling guilty. "Is everything all right, sir?" He asked. "Yes, Alfred." Replied Bruce. "Quite all right." "It doesn't seem all right, sir. Are you quite sure?" "Yes! I am quite sure!" Yelled Bruce. "Very well, sir." Bruce then walked back out again, taking gloves with to avoid fingerprints. He went to the GCPD and listened in to Montoya's conversation with the new detective Crispus Allen. He heard them refer to a man named Willy Hooker. But he wasn't connected to Falcone, so Bruce kept listening until he heard mentions of Falcone. He heard that he had visited a nearby Greek Mythology museum, so Bruce headed toward there almost immediately.

When he got there, it seemed empty. It also didn't look very much like a Greek Mythology museum. It looked more like a jewelerry shop. So Bruce walked up to the counter and rang the service bell. "Hello?" He said. "Hello, is anybody here?" A man who looked like he had seen a ghost suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Aloha!" That made Bruce jump, and the next thing he knew he was trying to hold up a glass cabinet which he had nearly knocked over. "I take it you're the owner?" He asked. "Yes, indeed, señor!" Replied the strange man in a fake Italian accent. "My name is a Maximous Zeus!" "Well... Mr Zeus..." Replied Bruce, "Do you know anything about a man named Carmine Falcone?" Mr Zeus looked worried. Then he said, "I, er... I do not know this Falcone person!" "Okay then." Said Bruce. "What about The Boss, his rival? Do you know his name?" "I am not an alliance of stupid gangsters!" Snapped Zeus. "Stop asking me questions about them!" "I never said they were gangsters." Bruce was beginning to get suspicious. "Mr Zeus, where were you last week on Monday at 12:30 pm?" "I, er... I do not know! I do not keep track of the timmy." "The time?" "Yes, that is it, I apologize, I am an Italian!" Bruce knew he was lying. But he couldn't be bothered to say. "May I look behind that door?" Zeus turned around. "Er, no, a looka, it says a staff only!" "I see that." Replied Bruce. "But the rules of a shop also say that you should make an exception if there is an investigation under way. And I assure you, Mr Zeus, there is." "Well..." Said Mr Zeus. "Lemme ask my starve." "Your staff?" "Yeah, that's it." And with that, Zeus walked away. In the other room was waiting a woman dressed in a bikini. "Oh, Maxie!" She said. "You came back to me!" "Of course, my darling!" Said Zeus. "I will be with you forever!" Then he stabbed the woman in the chest. "Maxie...?" She said, and collapsed to the ground. "Till death do us apart." Said Maxie Zeus. Then he opened the container that his now dead girlfriend had been sitting on. There was a strange pink liquid inside it. Inside the liquid was a foetus. Maxie added a blue chemical which caused the foetus to grow. It grew into a woman who looked just like the one he had just killed. Then he did the same with all the other containers. "Hello, my darlings!" Said Maxie. "Come with me. There is a man we need to deal with." All the women followed him outside to where Bruce was waiting. Maxie gave them each a gun. "BRUCE WAYNE!" he shouted. Bruce turned around to see Maxie with a hoard of 50 naked women behind him. "Um... Did you forget to buy your daughters some clothes?" "Daughters?" Said the woman standing to the left of Maxie. She leaned against him affectionately. "We're not his daughters! We're his loves!" "Well that's just weird." Said Bruce. "You're all half his age! Anyway, are you gonna fire or what?" "FIRE!" Shouted Maxie, and the women obeyed. But after they stopped and the cloud of smoke from the multiple firing bullets of the rifles had faded away, Bruce was nowhere to be seen. The only trace of him left was a hole in the window in the shape of a jumping Bruce. Maxie looked out of it, and down to the streets below. Bruce wasn't there. "That rascal!" He said, and killed all his loves for failing to finish him off.

Where Bruce actually was was on the gargoyle which was hidden by the window ledge if you look from a Birdseye view. Bruce climbed into the piping of the building through the menacing stone sculpture's mouth and made his way down to the sewers. Once he got there, he walked until he found a ladder, and then he climbed out through a drain. Where he ended up was unfamiliar. Bruce didn't recognize this part of the city. It was probably the only part he hadn't been to. He looked around. On his left was a coast, with bridges across to the mainland. There were lots of cars coming and going, whilst others were just cruising along the roads seeing what there was to do. On his right, there was a row of buildings, including some arcades, shops, cafés, and pubs, but the one that stood out the most to Bruce was the one that was the least decorated. It was just a plain blue building. No sign, no lights, not even any windows. Bruce considered that it might just be somebody's house, but then he realised it had no address number. So that couldn't be the answer.

Bruce decided to fulfill his curiosity. He slowly stepped into the building and looked around. There wasn't a sign of anyone. The only life he could find in there was a nest of rats in a gap they had chewed under the wall. "Hello?" He said, quietly at first, then louder so that people might hear him. "HELLO?" But nobody answered. Bruce checked for hair strands. Luckily, he found one. It was brown. He took it to the GCPD for testing.

"What is that?" Asked Montoya when Bruce gave her the hair in a food bag. "It's a hair strand. I'd like you to run DNA analysis on it for me." "Look, Bruce, I'm supposed to be finishing for the day now, and I'm supposed to be seeing my girlfriend tonight. I don't wanna disappoint her by being late on our first date." "Your girlfriend can wait." Said Bruce. "This is important." Montoya sighed. "Fine. But I am leaving as soon as I get a result, you hear me?" "Okay." Said Bruce, and Montoya began the analysis. "One match." She said. "His name is Maxwell Buchinsky. Now I'm leaving." And with that, she picked up her coat and walked out the door. Bruce looked at the DNA result. The picture looked familiar. It was Maximous Zeus. "So why," said Bruce to himself, "Is he listed as Maxwell Buchinsky?" Bruce got into Montoya's work chair and started researching Maxie. He found that Maxwell Buchinsky was his birth name, but he changed it on his 18th birthday. But not to Maximous Zeus. To Maximilian Stravopolous. He seemingly had changed it because he had recently got a criminal record for electrocuting shop runners who caught him stealing precious jewellery. The jewellery was the same as the jewellery in the Greek Mythology Museum. Maxie had been nicknamed the "Electrocutioner" by the GCPD, but hadn't gone anywhere near electronics since. Bruce read that after a few years Maximillian Stravopolous was proved to be a false identity, so to avoid getting arrested he changed it again. This time to Maximous Zeus. Maximous Zeus is listed as a chemist. He experiments with plants, animal and human DNA. "That explains why only one of his identities came up as a match. He must be scrambling his DNA every time he creates a new cover. And how he created all those women. Some weird experiment from the DNA of the original, probably." Bruce, without thinking, then picked up Montoya's cup and drank from it, forgetting he was in the GCPD office and not the Wayne Enterprises one. As he put it down, he noticed that it had a picture of Montoya and her girlfriend together. He looked around and hoped nobody saw that. Then he left.

Meanwhile, Montoya walked into the local café. She immediately spotted her girlfriend in the crowd. "Hi." She said, smiling, walking up to the table. "Hi," replied her girlfriend softly, "How was work?" "Well, it overran, as usual, as you probably already noticed." "Yeah, but I kinda figured it would. What was the delay this time?" "Bruce Wayne showed up asking me to run DNA analysis on a brown hair strand." "Bruce Wayne? Cool. Who's hair was it?" "Some guy called Maxwell Buchinsky. I didn't take time to read the profile. The picture looked kinda familiar..." "Well, I'm sure it's noone important, otherwise I would've heard of him." "Yes, probably. You know, Bruce most likely thinks that this date is with my ex. I've still got the cup with her on in my office. I guess it's a good thing I didn't change it to one with you, though, isn't it? We wouldn't want our secret relationship ruined just because your cousin looks at my mug." Montoya's girlfriend- Kate- laughed. "No. Bruce would definitely not like the fact that I'm dating you." She said. "He looks like he despises you whenever he walks into the Police Department." "He does not! He's completely fine with me!" "Yeah, right. Then why does he act so awkwardly around you? Do you think he has a crush on you?" Kate couldn't stop laughing. "No!" Replied Montoya, "He knows I'm a lesbian! Even if he did, he'd know he was dreaming, so I'm sure he wouldn't try to act differently around me. Besides, he and that Vale girl from Falcone's party were made for each other! I don't think he has a crush on me." "If he did, I would totally kill him." Said Kate. "And he knows I'm very capable of that. So you think he should date Vicki Vale?" "Yeah, Vicki, I forgot her name, but that's it." "I always saw him going for a psychiatrist. Chase Meridian, maybe. Or Harleen Quinzel. He's probably need them to set his head straight after a while, anyway!" Kate and Montoya both then burst out laughing. Kate nearly fell off her chair and knocked the waitress. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Miss!" She said, picking up everything the waitress had dropped. "I'll try not to let that happen again." "That's okay, Kate." Said the Waitress. "How do you know my-" Kate looked up, and for a second was gazing deep into the waitress's eyes. The thoughts going round in her head were something like: "Wow. She's beautiful. And her voice... That's an amazing, beautiful voice! How did she know my name? Oh, who cares, it's a beautiful thing that she knew my name!" Then before she knew it, the waitress was talking again. "You're Kate Kane. Bruce Wayne's cousin. I think just about everyone's heard of you by now." "Yeah. I'm Kate Kane, by the way. Who are you?" "I know, that's what I just said. I'm Maggie Sawyer. But I best be going, this order came from my girlfriend and I don't want to let her down." "Oh, you're... You're a lesbian too?" "Well, yeah." Said Maggie, and walked off to find her girlfriend. Kate then finally got back up and sat on her chair. But she was still rather memorized by Maggie. "Please don't tell me you're falling for someone else too! I already had one break up over that, I don't know if I could take another!" "No, I... I love you. I wanna be with you, not her. Besides, you heard, she's already got a girlfriend." "So have you." "Yeah, but... I love you." Montoya smiled and said, "I love you too." Then they kissed.

Bruce was now running toward the old base of Maxie's, from back when he was the Electrocutioner. It was nearby the Gotham City Police Department and opposite the Iceberg Club, around the corner from Arkham Asylum. When Bruce entered the damp, dark, building, it was empty. It looked like a very large garage, minus the storage. Then Bruce saw a shadow move above him. He slipped his balaclava on and looked up. "Hello?" He said, still not seeing anyone. "Hello." Said a voice, sounding like it was probably coming from a radio speaker. Bruce knew that voice. It was Maxie Zeus. "So good to see you again, Brucie! Even if the reverse has not been pleasured to you." "Maximous Zeus." Said Bruce, "Or should I say Maximilian Stravopolous? Or Maxwell Buchinsky? Any of those names are legally yours. Now what is your involvement with Falcone?" "I have no involvement with Falcone." Said Maxie, "I told you, I do not allign myself with gangsters! My work for Falcone is undercover. I'm waiting to take him down." "So you expect me to lay off because of some dumb story that you're an undercover cop? I read your file, Maxie. All three of your files. I know exactly who you are." "I never said I was a stupid cop! I am proud to be Maximous Zeus, third best gangster of the underworld. And Maximillian Stravopolous, chemist who created clones and new identities go people. The man who can cheat a DNA scan! And even Maxwell Buchinsky, the Electrocutioner, infamous enemy of Gotham City, never apprehended by the GCPD for but one time in twenty years! Why would an honoured man hide who he is from another honoured man? I never said I was a cop. I am undercover. I am waiting to take him down. And then I will take down the Boss. Then Franco Bertinelli. You already dealed with Rupert Thorne for me! And then I will be the king of Gotham!"

The speaker snapped at the loud noise and Maxie's transmission was no longer getting through. "You are so dumb, Maxie." Said Bruce to himself. "Telling me your whole plot? Transmitting so I can use Wayne Tech to trace your signal? Yep. Sooooooo dumb." And that is exactly what Bruce did. He ran to the Wayne Enterprises building and into the Wayne Tech department, where he tracked the signal of the transmitter. It told him that Maxie had been transmitting from the one place Bruce would never have thought to look. His own home. Wayne Manor. Bruce stole the nearest open roof car and does home to Wayne Manor. When he got there, it was only as he got out the car he realised he had forgotten to wear a seatbelt. He felt ashamed of this briefly, but shook his head and got over it, walking in through the door. "Maxie?" He called down the hall. "Maxie, I know you're in here. You let me trace your signal." Then Bruce heard a cackle from the library. He slipped his balaclava on again, and listened to the insane, menacing voice that was trying to communicate with him. "Ah, Brucie, you find me! Well it was only a matter of time really, with all that tech your company owns! But don't you see? You literally just said it out loud. I LET you trace my signal. So that you could see this poor soul before I CUT HIS THROAT!" Bruce was silent for a second. He got out a gun. Then he worked out who Maxie was talking about. "Alfred..." He whispered to himself. Maxie cackled again. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Yes, that's right, BRUCIE, I've got your poor old butler here, in his own home, with a flipknife to his throat! Yes, that's it. Come on, Brucie. Come free the old man." Bruce burst into the library. Inside, there was indeed Maxie with a knife to Alfred's throat, but there were also two other people tied up in chairs either side him with their mouths taped and bombs strapped to their necks. "I found this two not too far from here. I knew one here was your cousin, and the other here is a known associate of yours. By the way, did you know they were dating, because I caught the two kissing each other." "Kate! Montoya!" Shouted Bruce. "Is that you, Bruce?" Asked Kate, forcing her mouth to lift up above the tape. Bruce still had the balaclava on, so she didn't recognize him immediately. "Yeah, Kate, it's me." Replied Bruce. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here." "Um," said Montoya, also freeing her mouth from the tape. "Just in case we die, Kate thinks you either hate me or have a crush on me, are either of those things true?" "You're not going to die. But he is." And with that, Bruce shot Maxie right in the heart. "Uh... Not sure you answered my question..." Said Montoya. "That was rather violent." Said Kate. "We'll talk about this later. Right now, I need to get a new lead to follow." "Please don't go down this road, sir." Said Alfred. Bruce took his balaclava off and stared at Alfred menacingly. Then he walked away to do what he said he would. Get a new lead. And that was the end of another day in Gotham City.


	3. Chapter 3

"Um, I hope this works." Said Montoya, with a very worried look on her face. "Although, even if it doesn't, what if Bruce's feelings just aren't taking effect right now, since it has only been a week since I was kidnapped by Maxie Zeus." "It'll work." Replied Kate. "Trust me." "But... What if Bruce spreads rumours and people start shipping us?" "They wouldn't ship a lesbian woman with a man. That would be ridiculous." "Oh, trust me, there are some ridiculous ships out there. There's even this one of two sisters, one who's magic and saved her sister in an act of true love, shipped together. There's even fanfics where they get married!" "They're not going to ship you!" Kate rolled her eyes, and left the room to hide before Bruce came in. But, unfortunately for them, they had to wait a very long time before that happened.

You see, Bruce was going to be very late home today. First, there was the fact that Wayne Enterprises needed him to work extra hours because they were trying to work on a new super model car to up their sales income each year. Then, there was the fact that Bruce was just always late. All people in this part of America who were famous for their work were always late. Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Barry Allen, Oliver Queen. It seemed to be a running tradition across Gotham and its nearby cities. Except for Blüdhaven. The only things people were famous for there were murder, robbery and prostitution. Bruce figured he might move his crusade there if he ran out of criminals in Gotham to connect to Falcone. And that was the third thing. The final reason why Bruce was late was because, now everyday before coming home from his job at Wayne Enterprises, he carried on his crusade. So right now, while Montoya was in his house waiting for him, he was in her office waiting for her.

After a few minutes of pacing and looking at his watch, Bruce was about to give up when he saw the office door opening in front of him. But it wasn't Montoya who walked through it. It was Crispus Allen. "Ah, Crispus, could you tell me where Miss Montoya is, shouldn't she be here working by now?" "Sorry, Bruce." Replied Crispus. "Renee took the day off, said she wanted to try something out and get answers to some questions she has about one of her friends. Although, she's probably just on a date with her girlfriend." "You're allowed to call her Kate." "Right. Kate." "This is awkward." "Yeah." And with that, Bruce left to go home. On his way, he said to himself, "Okay, one day without my crusade. I can do that. Although, maybe I could've trusted Crispus to help me. I don't know, there's something about Montoya that makes me feel safe to ask questions. Why am I saying all this to myself? Do I need professional help? Am I going insane? Did I just have a very convincing dream that my cousin was dating Montoya? Wait, why do I even care? Maybe I should talk to..." Bruce opened the door. "...Montoya?" "You know, you are allowed to call me Renee." "Kate's not here..." Kate held in a giggle from behind the door. "I didn't come for Kate. I came for you." "Oh. Did you need my help with something? Did you find out who Maxie Zeus was working for? Did you want me to apologize for getting you kidnapped in my house?" While Bruce was ranting, Montoya turned around and braced herself, then turned to face Bruce again and leapt in and kissed him. Bruce backed away and said, "What are you doing?!" "Is there a problem?" Asked Kate, taking off her coat and placing it on the table behind her. "You're- you're with Kate..." Stammered Bruce. "A-and, I thought you weren't into men..." Montoya paused, and hesitantly replied, "I may have had a change of heart. And come on. A millionaire playboy who has a problem with cheating? That's not it. So why are you holding back? Do you not like me?" Montoya put her hand up to the strap of her dress, as if she was about to take it off. "No, I-I do like you- I like you a lot, it's just that- this was- unexpected..." Montoya then burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" Asked Bruce. "I just got you to confess that you have a crush on me." "What?" Kate then walked in from the other room, and her and Montoya kissed. Then they walked away. "Oh, and for the record," Montoya said, leaving, "I'm still not into men." The door then shut behind them and Bruce was left to get mixed up in strange feelings about Montoya. And Montoya and Kate were left to not be able to stop laughing all day.

Amongst all this commotion, Bruce had completely forgotten the reason he had been looking for Montoya in the first place. So it wasn't until he saw a policeman through the window chasing after a woman who had just stolen a diamond from a jewelry store that he began investigating further into Falcone. The delay, he presumed, meant more casualties. So he decided to make his cop for inside information be Crispus Allen instead of Montoya, to prevent distractions like that from happening again. So he headed back to the GCPD and talked to Crispus. "Detective Allen," he said, entering the office Crispus worked in, "I presume you remember me?" "Bruce Wayne, if I didn't remember you, either I would have amnesia, or I would've been replaced by an alien shapeshifter. What's up?" Replied Crispus. "Well, I need some information." "I can do that, so long as it's not classified." "Well, is Carmine Falcone classified? His known associates?" "Wait a minute, how do you know about Carmine Falcone? He is indeed classified." "I believe he killed my parents. Or at least arranged the murder. And I've been working with Renee." "Don't you usually call her Montoya?" "Yeah. But I'm calling her Renee now." "Okay. Well, I can't give away classified information. But I understand, if he did get your parents killed, why you're looking into this. So I might not find much, but I'll do some digging, and do what I can." "Thank you, Detective Allen." "You're welcome, Mr Wayne." So Bruce walked out of the office while Crispus started checking up on Falcone. But Bruce didn't leave the building, he found a spot outside the office window where he was hidden just enough to see what Crispus was doing and looking at, whilst not being visible himself to Crispus. What he saw on Crispus' computer was a list of Falcone's known associates. Bruce noticed he dismissed a lot of them, but when he came to it, he immediately opened the file on Karl Hellfern. Karl Hellfern was a doctor from Ohio. 535.4 miles away. Bruce found it odd that Crispus was so interested in this one man who lived so many miles away. But at the same time, Bruce was interested in him too. He was connected to Falcone, and Bruce was interested in everyone who was connected to Falcone. The file didn't say how he was connected, but it did say he was. That was enough to bring up the vigilante side of Bruce. He checked the address, took a flight there, and when he got there, slipped on his balaclava, ready for battle. When he put it on, he felt two plastic objects land on top of his head. He took the balaclava off, took them out, and observed them. Then he noticed that they weren't the only things inside the balaclava. There was also a note, written in handwriting that was vaguely familiar to Bruce. But he couldn't place where he had seen it before. The note said, "Attach these to the sides of your balaclava." So that it is exactly what he did. The two black triangles then began to fuzz and beep. Then Bruce heard a familiar voice in his ears. "Hello, Master Bruce." It was saying. "I see you've found the communication devices." "Alfred!" Responded Bruce aggressively, "If you've done this to talk me out of my crusade..." "No, sir. At least not yet, anyway. Actually, I made them so that I might aid you. I can be your eyes and ears. I am actually rather skilled with a computer. That is, as long as we go about this crusade in the right way. The first rule is, of course, we don't kill. I will not tolerate watching you take a life, whether they are innocent or guilty of whatever you have accused them of. And that's the second rule. We don't jump to conclusions. We play detective first. Once we know for sure of somebody's guilt, and ONLY then, will we make a move on them. Understood?" "I understand." Replied Bruce. "I understand perfectly. I understand you're trying to hold me back from doing what I need to do. I understand you're trying to control me. And I understand you're trying to make my crusade look ridiculous by giving me talking bat-ears with your voice in them on the sides of my head. The answer is no." And with that, Bruce took off the communication devices, squashed them under his foot, and continued to look for Karl Hellfern. The last words heard out of the devices were, "But sir... Sir!" And Bruce never looked back to pick them up.

Meanwhile, Dr Hellfern was mixing a serum together with a liquid from a vile, which was not one known to the world for most people. While doing this, he was talking to his assistant, in a way you would talk as if you suspected somebody of committing an action against you. "What is the matter?" He asked. "Whatever do you mean?" Replied Hellfern's assistant, nervously. "There is concern on your face. You are heating up red and there is sweat running down your neck, your face, and everywhere else where sweat can reach. So. What is the matter?" "It's just-" replied his assistant, hesitantly. "Yes?" Prompted Hellfern, speaking slowly to keep the tension in the air. "Well, I ran a few tests, and- a-and, that serum you're making, it could have some very bad side effects. I tried it on a rat, and now the rat is- well, more of a shrivelled grape." "You ungrateful bitch!" Shouted Hellfern loudly. "I care for you. I feed you. I even let you be my business partner! And the one, ONE THING, that might be able to prolong my life, you try to tell me not to use it! Get over here!" "Please Karl-" "GET OVER HERE!" His assistant then slowly walked up to him, gulping as she knew what was about to happen. When she got to the other end of the room, Hellfern pulled her arm violently, and whispered into her ear, "You should know better than to defy the very doctor of death." Then he snapped, "Take off your clothes!" Between holding in tears, Hellfern's assistant slowly undid her shirt buttons, then slid down her trousers, trying not to break down to the ground at the thought of what Hellfern was about to do. And then he did it. And there were security cameras. There were guards. There were other people in the building. And nobody cared.

Alfred sat down in Wayne Manor and sighed. He needed someone to talk to, someone who cared about him and the loss of his father. And apparently, Bruce was not that someone. So he was happy when his phone buzzed and he saw that Bruce's uncle Philip Kane was calling him. "Hello, Mr Kane." Said Alfred after picking up. "Hello, Pennyworth." Replied Philip. "I'm just calling to say sorry for your loss. I just heard about Jarvis. Is there anything I can do to help?" "No, not really." Said Alfred. "I just need someone to talk to. Bruce doesn't seem to understand, which is odd, considering what happened 27 years ago." Philip let out a snigger. "Bruce isn't really a people person. Um, and, not to change the subject or anything, but I'd also like to inform you that Wayne Enterprises has gotten me a new advisor. He's a little odd, but his tactics seem to be working, and we've got a bigger income now. Pennyworth, you there?" "Yes, I'm still here. Sorry, can I put you on hold, Bruce is calling." "Okay." "Hello, Master Bruce, I thought you didn't want my help." "I don't. I'm just calling so that Hellfern can trace my signal so he can find me so I can find him and beat him up." "Why would Mr Hellfern want to trace your signal?" "People say I'm making a name for myself. He'll probably want to find me so he can make me look stupid. He won't be expecting it to backfire." "..." "Alfred? You gone?" "No, Master Wayne, I'm still here. Your Uncle Philip is on hold. I'd hate to keep him waiting." "Okay. I'll hang up." Bruce hung up. Then Alfred was surprised to see another call trying to get through. "Commissioner Gordon? How did you get my number? Can I help you with something?" "Is this Alfred Pennyworth?" "Yes." "Bruce gave me your number. He said he was unavailable, so if I needed anything from him, to call you, so that you can pass it on to him." "What is it you wanted?" "Well, I've received word from Officer Montoya that Bruce has been asking for information on Carmine Falcone." "Yes?" "Well, Detective Allen has found some information that's not classified. And you'll never guess where he found it." "On the filing computers, surely?" "No. He got it from Mayor Dark. And Mayor Dark says he was given it by a vigilante wearing a black balaclava." "Ah. Well... What is the information?" "It appears to be proof of crimes that we never even suspected Falcone of. There's nothing to support the theories we did have, but if we do a little more digging, we should be able to convict Falcone." "That's... Very good news, Commissioner Gordon. I shall... Pass it on. Now, I don't mean to be rude, but I've had another caller on hold for a little while now, so I would like to get back to speaking with him?" "Of course. Call me when you relay my message to Bruce." "Certainly." Commissioner Gordon hung up. "Sorry, Mr Kane, Bruce hung up and then Commissioner Gordon called. What was it you were saying?" "It's nothing. I was just blabbering about my work at Wayne Enterprises, that's all. Sorry to bother you. Bye, Pennyworth." "Goodbye, Mr Kane." And the conversation ended. But then, Alfred nearly swore, which is not a thing he has been known to do, when Bruce called back. "What is it?" He asked, almost snapping. "Could you get me a list of everyone who works at the GCPD?" "Whatever for?" "They're the good guys. I need to know the difference." Alfred sighed again. "I can access the files quite easily via my computer. Look inside your boot." Bruce did. He found two white lenses. "What are they?" He asked. "Put them under the eyeholes of your balaclava." Replied Alfred, and Bruce did as instructed. "I'm now going to feed the information through to you. You will see it on the screen of your lenses." Bruce read out the names as he saw them appear in front of him: "James Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Renee Montoya, Crispus Allen, Melody McKenna, Jamie Harper, Alex Aisi, Andy Kasinski, Clancy O'Hara, Angel Rojas, Angie Peterson, Arnold Flass, Geoff Shancoe, Carlos Alvarez, Caz Salluci, Charlie Fields, Marcus Driver, Cissy Chambers, Dagmar Procjnow, Dan Foley, David Cornwell. Right. Now I know who I can trust. I'm gonna hang up now." "Very well, Master Bruce." "Oh, and Alfred?" "Yes, Master Bruce?" "Thanks." Alfred felt a smile grow on his face as Bruce hung up. It was very rare to get thanks from Bruce Wayne. And he just had. Everything seemed like it was going to be okay for a moment, then Alfred saw Renee walk into the room. "Officer Montoya? When did you get in here?" "I've been in here all day, Alfred." Replied Renee. "Kate's here, too. It's 12 o Clock. We're hungry." Alfred sighed one last time, and proceeded to make the two women and himself some lunch.

Karl gulped as he put his serum into the vile. Just as he was about to inject himself, the vile was knocked out of his hand by a black boomerang. Then the vigilante he had been reading about came in. "Well." He said. "Isn't it the Dark Knight of Gotham City? I presume you are here to kill me.". Bruce thought about it for a second, and then said, "No. Actually I'm not. At least, not yet. I need evidence first.". "Evidence?" Questioned Hellfern. "I don't believe you had evidence when you killed Cobblepot. Or Zeus. So why do you all of a sudden need evidence on me?" "A friend of mine gave me some advice." "Ha. You have friends? I would've thought everybody would be afraid of you by now. Well. All except for me." "Shut up, Hellfern." Replied Bruce. "Hand over the vile.". Hellfern walked away and came back with the vile. "You mean this?" He asked. "That's the one.". Replied Bruce. "You don't want me to do that.". "Why not?". "Because of what it does.". "Which is what?". "This.". Hellfern injected himself and Bruce watched as the serum made his veins turn green, and then his whole body grew into a brown, plant-like, skeletal form. Bruce shot him but it just made a branch grow out of his back. Then Hellfern put his hood up, and said, "Don't you see? You can't kill me. For I am death.". Then he stretched out his fingers, which were now more like claws, attempting to pierce them right through Bruce's heart. But Bruce leapt out of the window just as Hellfern could reach no further. He landed on the ground, and his shoulder was broken. He was bleeding across the entire road, and then if was made even worse when a drunk driver ran over him. He was seconds away from death. Until another car pulled up, a limo, and a man in a trenchcoat stepped out. Bruce couldn't make the face out, but he knew it was someone he had seen before. Someone familiar. He hoped that meant he could trust them.

He was wrong.

When he woke up, he was tied to an electrified table with cables made of metal, using a really tight not he had never seen before. And standing next to him was the man in the trenchcoat. The familiar man. Standing next to him was Carmine Falcone. "Funny. How these knots were invented by some 12 year old kid." He was saying. "They really are the best I've ever come across." Bruce was struggling to breath with these cables around him, so he couldn't make any reply. "And you know the funnier thing? Hmm?" Bruce just glared. "I think I know exactly who you are. And now, I can see if I'm right! Bruce." Falcone took Bruce's balaclava off. "Ah, of course." He said. "I didn't make a mistake. I can't, after all. I'm a Falcone. I'm impressed that a member of your family, the waynes, finally attempted to take me down. Their enemy. But, at the same time, Bruce, I'm disappointed. That you actually thought you would manage it! Bruce Wayne Vs Carmine Falcone! Who will win? Find out in the next installment of the legend of the dark Knight! That is what Hellfern calls you, isn't it?". There was a short pause before Falcone continued, "Anyway, it really is ridiculous, this little crusade of yours. And I'm sure you're waiting for me to say something that can convict me. I'm sure that your hands underneath you there are already out of my cables. And I'm sure you're about to attempt to get me arrested. But, Bruce. I haven't said anything worthy of conviction. So even if you've got a recorder, it won't help.". "You're stupid.". Bruce managed to say from under the super-tight hitch. "Oh? How so?" Asked Falcone. "You did say something worthy of conviction. It was obvious. Standing right out those words.". "What did I say, then, Mr Wayne?". "You- you said, 'I'm sure that your hands are already out of my cables'. That's a confession to tying me up.". "It's also not illegal, Bruce. Otherwise, how would there be rope puzzles? How would idiotic teenagers tie each other up for fun? Mr Wayne, I have committed no crimes against you." "You killed my parents.". "Did I?" Bruce was enraged at the sound of the surprise in Falcone's voice. As if he had done it without even knowing. Oblivious to who his victims were. Bruce wished he could get up and fight Falcone to the death. But he couldn't under this cable. His hands were untied, but the hitch was practically undoable, even more so in the condition that Hellfern had left him in. So instead he just said, "You know you did. Go to hell." Falcone smiled and said, "Now wouldn't that be nice?" Then he walked away, leaving Bruce trapped and unable to save himself. He thought it might be the end for him.

Then a blonde-haired woman- no, girl- dressed in a purple suit with a hood and balaclava leapt in through the window, pulling out two swords. Then she held them over Bruce, making him feel very scared. Then she cut the cables, making him feel very relieved. "Um, hi. So, Bruce Wayne is that vigilante, huh? We better get out of here before Falcone comes back." "Who are you?" Asked Bruce. "Oh, I'm the Spoiler.". She replied. "The who?". "I'll explain later. Now come with me to the base!". "Base?" "Just follow me!" So the Spoiler dragged Bruce out of the building and onto her purple motorbike. As they were riding (at a very high illegal speed), she played some music. "It's really cool to meet you!". She shouted. "Why?" He asked. "I'm a murderer!". "True, but I kill when I have to, too. We do pretty much the same thing. And with the pattern I'm noticing in your crusade, it seems we're after the same guy! Speaking of, I think you stole my evidence bag from the sewer! Can I have it back? It's really important for my work!". "Oh, that was yours? Um, sorry, but I gave it to the mayor.". "The MAYOR?! What, are you insane? We're vigilantes, not cops! We run from the law, not to it!" Then they arrived at a hill ledge in a very remote part of the city on an empty road. "Welcome to the base.". Said the Spoiler, inserting a key from her belt into the dirt. Then, a hidden door slid down and they stepped into a very tech-filled cave-like room. The door shut behind them and Spoiler pulled down her balaclava. "Stephanie Brown.". She said, shaking Bruce's hand. "I'm sure we'll make a very good team."

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Loads more chapters to come! I would appreciate some reviews that are nice and short, unlike the 8 i've got so far! Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

The lights of Gotham City flashed brightly into Stephanie Brown's face. "Uggghh" she groaned. "Turn it off!" "I can't." Replied the chinese-looking girl sitting on her bed beside her. "It's the city lights, not ours. But either way, you really should get up. I've been up for a few hours now." "Just ten more minutes..." "That's what you said ten minutes ago." Stephanie groaned one more time and then slowly got out of her bed. Then she walked over to the kitchen to make herself breakfast. "I already made you something." Said the other girl. Stephanie looked over to the table and saw a Full English with an additional glass of wine. "Cass!" Said Stephanie. "You know I'm not old enough to drink!" "Neither am I. I don't turn eighteen until September." Replied Cass. "But I don't care. I've been drinking that stuff ever since I left home." Stephanie paused for a second, then said, "Didn't you leave home when you were fourteen?". "Yes." There was silence and then Stephanie sat down at the table. "I'm not sure if I can take all this food." She said before cutting into the fried egg. "Well you managed to fill yourself up with fifteen burgers on your birthday last week." Said Cass while changing her clothes behind Stephanie. "That's different. It's junk eating, and besides, it was a dare, eat fifteen burgers on your fifteenth birthday. This is a posh meal which was invented in England, which is literally the most posh country in the world.". Cass then walked up to the table and faced Stephanie. "Just eat it. Please?" Stephanie was too focused on the fact that Cass had been wearing something different a few minutes ago to hear what Cass was saying. "Did you just get changed with me here again?" She asked. "Yes. So? Back home I always got changed out in public." Stephanie sighed. "Cass, this is Jump City, not a remote part of the Middle East. Things work differently here." "Well I saw Kate Kane getting changed in front of someone through her window." Stephanie looked very concerned. "Firstly, Cass, you shouldn't be peeping in people's windows. Secondly, that was probably Renee Montoya. They're girlfriends. We're friends sharing a flat. There is a very big difference." Cass stared at her for a minute and then simply said, "Okay. But please eat your breakfast." Stephanie nodded and eat the fried egg. Then she said, "Cass, I really can't eat this, most of those burgers are still in my system!" Cass smirked then pushed Stephanie's head towards the plate. "Eat." She said. Stephanie then eat the rest of the meal. When she had finished it, she felt very full. "I really don't wanna put on weight, Cass!" She said, "I'm going to the gym!" "I'll go with you." Replied Cass. "Uhh... Okay..." Stephanie immediately started thinking about all the things that could go wrong if she took Cass along with her. She also hated the fact that Cass already looked very athletic and strong, while she herself had very thin arms and, although she could run quite fast, wasn't very strong at all. But besides that, she still let Cass come along, because she didn't want to hurt her best friend's feelings.

When they got there, Stephanie spotted Dick Grayson. Dick Grayson was a 17-year-old orphaned boy who Bruce Wayne had adopted after Dick's parents were murdered during their circus routine. Dick was just slightly older than Cass, and Stephanie dreaded that, in case Cass tried to be flirty with him. At the moment he was hanging from a monkey bar wearing only boxer shorts with an expression as though he felt like the whole world was against him. That made him a very similar person to Cass, and Cass had a flirty tendency with people similar to her, although she would never admit it. So, to prevent this from happening, Stephanie made sure that she was the first one to speak to him. "Dick Grayson?" She said. Dick's eyes shot open from the gloomy almost closed state they had been in, and he grew a smile and suddenly became a rather happy person- in fact, now he was reminding Stephanie of herself. "Hey. Can I help you with something?" He asked. "Oh..." Said Stephanie, now feeling rather embarrassed, "No thank you. I just... You're famous, so you know, it's an honour to meet you.". "Oh. Well, what's your name?" Replied Dick. "It's... Stephanie. My friends call me Steph." "Well; hey, Steph. Are you sure there's nothing I can help you with?". Stephanie looked over to see Cass observing Dick's boxer shorts, and then beginning to strip down to her underwear. "Uhh... Actually, yes. Come and meet my friend Cass.". Stephanie hurried over to where Cass was standing and stopped her from pulling her pants down. Dick jumped down to the ground- which made a very loud noise due to his muscle mass- and walked over. "Hey, Cass. I'm Dick." He said, reaching out his hand for a handshake. Cass reluctantly returned the shake, doing it with her left hand. Dick was quite confused. "Are you left handed?" He asked. Cass didn't answer. She just leapt up to the monkey bar above her and started exercising on it. "Your friend is a strange one." Said Dick as him and Steph both stared at Cass. Steph looked at him. "Hey! She's just not from around here, that's all." She said. "Yeah. I can tell.". At that, Dick's phone rang. He walked back over and picked it up from his kit, then said, "It's Bruce. I gotta go. Well, it was nice to meet you." "...Yeah. Nice." Replied Stephanie, then Dick left the building, answering the phone, and throwing his white towel over his shoulder. "Hey, Bruce, what is it?" He asked. "I need your help. I'm going to go and see Montoya to get some information. So, can you distract Alfred please? There's noone else in the house.". "Uhh..." Said Dick, having heard that Kate was coming round to visit. "Sure.". Then he cut the call, working out what was actually going on. So, he didn't want to interrupt Kate and Montoya's date, meaning he would have to go somewhere other than Wayne Manor. He decided to go to the Gotham City Town Centre.

Meanwhile, Steph went to have a go with weights, while Cass stayed on the monkey bar. Steph attempted to pick up a 10 lbs weight. She couldn't. "Really... Heavy..." She said. Cass then came over and picked it up. "How can you do that so easily?!" Exclaimed Steph. "Training." Replied Cass, and started exercising with the weight. Steph groaned and said, "Okay, I'm gonna go now. Just, try to act normal, okay? And try to mingle. Talk to people.". Cass didn't answer, so Steph just left. She walked toward the town centre, not realising that that was the exact same direction Dick had gone in. When she got there, Dick spotted her in the crowd. "Oh. Hello again." He said. Steph froze and turned around. "Hi." She said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to follow you. I didn't realize you would be here.". "It's okay." Replied Dick. "I don't even know where I'm going.". "Neither do I." That was the last thing Steph said to Dick on that day. She could hear that he was replying, but she didn't know what he was saying, because she was too focused on the fact that she had just seen Carmine Falcone's car drive by. "Sorry, I gotta go..." She said, and rushed off to the cave she had recently found on the outskirts of Gotham. Something had occured to her; since she knew the number plate, she could use her computer to track the car so she could take him down. She had been trying to take him down for a while now, for reasons only she knew. She traced him back to a remote laboratory across the border. "Gotcha." She said, then put on her gloves to avoid fingerprints, and pulled up her balaclava and hood to avoid facial recognition, then got onto her purple motorbike and sped off. "Oh, I truly am gonna be the Spoiler of your plots." She said to herself as she got nearer to the lab.

When she got there, she got off her motorbike and was about to walk in, when she saw a man thrown out of the window who was bleeding a lot. At first, she recognised him as the vigilante she had been reading about, but then she saw his face. "Well I'll be." She said to herself, quoting whatever the last western movie she had watched was. "It's Bruce Wayne!". Bruce didn't notice her, but someone did. Some kind of skeletal monster leapt out through the roof of the building and landed in front of her. She threw a punch at it, but it was useless. She attempted all the martial arts Cass had taught her, but none of it seemed to be any use. The monster extended its claws, so she tried a new method. She slid under its arm and into the building, tempting it to chase her. She made the monster run into a chemical room, then locked it in. After that, she pressed a button that released all the dangerous chemicals into that room. She watched the monster's body start to deteriorate, but couldn't stand to watch all the way through, so left the building. She saw Falcone picking up Bruce Wayne and taking him into his car, then driving away. She quickly leapt onto her motorbike and chased the car.

...

"And that's how I found you.". Said Steph. "Why are you trying to take down Falcone?" Asked Bruce. "It's not Falcone, as such. Just someone who works for him." "Oh. So, where is Cass now?" "I don't know. The gym will be closed, so she can't still be there. Hopefully she's gone back to our flat." "What about Dick?". "How the hell should I know? I literally only met him today! Well, it's night now, but you know what I mean.". "Are your parents okay with you using that kind of language?". Steph paused then said, "My parents? Uh, well, it's not that bad, is it? It's not like I said the f word.". "You know the f word?" Steph looked a little angry. "Look, Wayne, I'm not a kid. I'm 15, not 5. So just treat me like you would if I was older, will you? Wait, no. I probably shouldn't ask for that from a billionaire playboy." "Look, I'm not really a playboy, Miss Brown. I'm just portrayed that way to the public eye because I'm rich. But if we're going to be a team, we need to agree on something to do, not argue about how to treat each other. So, where do we start?"

Author's Note: Hey, sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I just kind of lost interest in this story and this website. I'll try to finish this, but there'll probably be a long break again before I release the new chapter. I'm aware that this chapter is considerably shorter than the previous ones, but just understand that I've got a lot going on with me at the moment. Now that I've got some spare time, I'll try to read through the 8 very long reviews I got for the first chapter. ~Deepmaniac80


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